Author
Topic: I'm wussing out! (Read 3612 times)

cory

Well, I've decided that the best possible way to cook a pizza for me is put the oven at about 500degrees, put the pie on the stones for about 4-5 minutes, and finish it in the broiler drawer for about 1-2 minutes. Today, I made a damn-near perfect pizza @ 500 degrees. (Probably near 480 on the stones) The bottom was just a touch too done. If I had taken it out 2 minutes earlier, the bottom would have been perfect.

No oil (cheating) this time-- the crust was gbd all from the oven. Taste/texture was great-- the bottom had that "twice cooked" taste like when you get a reheated slice. It was my first large (16") so I miscalculated on the peel/tile action, and had a bit of a weird edge where one side slumped off, and got pinched in the oven door.

I also picked up some of the sorrento mozz at costco on the way home-- nice flavor, there.

After 3 pies, I can honestly say, I can consistently make a pizza that is better than most NY style I've had-- only my two favorite places in town make a better pie, (which are undeniably the best 2 as opined by naitive NY'ers) , and I'm certain that with the right ingredients (6-in-1 maybe?) I'll be able to tie 'em or come REALLY close!

cory

I'm just using the standard Good Eats Version, which isn't too different from most of these here. I don't have a scale yet, so I can't do weight based, and I had a very detailed video on this one, so I stayed with it. When I go to the store again, I'm going to branch out.

I went ahead and bloomed the yeast, just in case, using part of the 3/4 cup, as well as an additional pinch of sugar.

I added the ingredients: 1 c flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, yeast, 2nd cup. Mixed until a consistent scrappy dough formed. Dough hook on low for 15 minutes, low. wait 5, then about 5 more. I realized after the fact that I should have switched to medium speeds at some point, but I did it by texture/baker's window test.

Rolled the ball, tightening the membranes. More olive oil and a 24 hour fridge proof.

This most recent time, I had my wife take it out of the fridge and let it rise for about 1.5 hours before I made the pie. I liked this result, it was dense, chewy and the crust on top was perfect. (no picture, sorry) A little too done on the bottom, but as I said above, I've had plenty of reheated slices that had about the same taste/consistency on the bottom.

I'm interested in trying different ones, I just had the right ingredients for this, and I have to score some instant yeast first.

Sauce: Redpack blended a bit chunky with 3 cloves of garlic, fresh thyme and some dried oregano. (I like a garlicky sauce.) This time, I simmered for 30 minutes and allowed to cool. The second two times, I used the leftovers cold from the fridge to a better result. (I also used more sauce)

For cheese, I've tried differen things, but last night's blend of Sorrento Whole (low moisture) Mozz with a bit of shredded store-brand prov and some fresh shredded parm was the best cheese yet.

Extrapolating from my experiences, it will work best for me in a 500F oven for 4-5 min with a 60-90 second finish under my (gas) broiler.

cory

Well, the wussout worked completely. About 4-5 minutes on the bottom, with a 90 second finish under the broiler produced this beauty:

(http://caplan.org/pics/pizza4.jpg)

Sorry for the bad picture. Next time I'm not going to be so lazy to use my camera phone-- I'll get my real digital camera out.

I added a bit of honey to the mix this time-- I don't mind a slightly sweet edge to the crust.

I also kneaded the dough differently. I brought it all together on low, then switched to the hooks and did 5 minutes on 4. Rest for 5, add another tsp of olive oil and I did 5 more minutes on 4. INCREDIBLY plasticy dough. It worried me, but now I understand where the KA really shines. It made the silkiest smooth doughball I've ever done-- very uniform texture, almost like plastic clay or something.

I brought it out of the fridge, punched it down, re-balled it, and let it rise for about 1 1/4 hours. It was EXTREMELY elasticy. I should have re punched down, and re formed a ball at this point, but I just went ahead and made the pie. I had a tear on the bottom, so I couldn't strech as much as I wanted, but due to the texture of the dough, I was able to really get some air. I was tossing it like a pro.

In the end, I think I should have let it warm up a bit more, It wasn't as thin in the middle as I would like, but it had fantastic texture.

Next time, I'm going to olive-oil up the dough between the oven and the broiler to see if I can give it a fried-crispy edge to the crust.

Each time it gets better, and I may never order pizza ever again!!

Logged

cory

The store where I got my weekly groceries didn't have any decent tomatoes, so I went with ground condantina. I strained and discarded the liquid, leaving the chunky mass. I added 3 cloves of crushed garlic and some italian spices... I used it raw on the pizza, and it was great! Very tomatoey & fresh. Can't wait to see how the 6-in-1s do! I would recommend non-cook to anybody who likes a "fresh tomato" taste to their pies!